April 12, 2006 -- Twenty-five years ago today, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched into history as the world's first winged orbital vehicle designed to be reusable. The STS-1 mission, with its two-man crew of John Young and Robert Crippen, introduced a new chapter for U.S. manned space flight efforts.

Whereas past and future milestone missions would trigger attempts to collect and preserve the artifacts created as a result, the nature of the Space Shuttle would greatly limit that from happening for STS-1.

Unlike the Apollo Command Module that shared its name, orbiter Columbia would not be destined for a museum. The STS-1 spacecraft would fly again seven months after its first flight, proving its reusability. However, before it could launch, OV-102 (as Columbia was also referred, for Orbiter Vehicle-102) needed some repair.

During its maiden space flight, Columbia lost 16 of its heat shield tiles and a further 148 had been damaged. The tiles and other components removed post-flight became one of the first artifacts to be saved of STS-1. Some of the white and black thermal barriers were kept intact and presented to VIPs such as Flight Director Eugene Kranz. Still others were sliced apart into small squares and encased in Lucite for distribution to team members as "Space Transportation System Mementos".

Similar presentations are known to have occurred for other replaced parts, including samples taken from Columbia's wing leading edge and landing gear tires. An unspecified amount of flown metal was mixed with ground-based alloy to mint commemorative medallions that NASA's Manned Flight Awareness Office then gifted to the employees and contractors responsible for the STS-1 mission's success.

Columbia itself would fly a total of 28 crews to orbit, each time taking with it much of the original vehicle that Young and Crippen flew on STS-1. In 2001, the orbiter's original switch-controlled cockpit was replaced with a new "glass" version. During the same 17-month refurbishment, 1,000 pounds of wiring and equipment used to monitor OV-102's early missions were removed and believed to have been scrapped (as with the majority of parts removed after each of Columbia's 27 successful flights).

Then in February 2003, while returning from its 28th flight to space, Columbia and its STS-107 crew of seven were lost during reentry. In the weeks and months that followed the break-up over Texas, nearly 84,000 pieces were found and identified. After the subsequent investigation finished analyzing the debris, the components were moved to the 16th floor of the building where Columbia was once readied for launch, where they remain today. The floor is closed to all but researchers and a small group of employees. NASA has also allowed key parts to be sent out for scientific and academic study.

Neither of the STS-1 crew members see a need or desire for parts of Columbia collected after the accident to be put on public display.

"I don't know why anyone would want to see old burned up parts," said Young in an interview with collectSPACE. "She was a great vehicle and I am just sorry it happened."

"I don't think it is appropriate to put her in that form on a public display," said Crippen in a separate collectSPACE interview. "She was a proud ship, one that I'm honored to have flown. Putting out the pieces would not have been the right thing to do."

Though Columbia is no longer flying, parts of the STS-1 launch vehicle continue to lift other orbiters skyward. The white-painted External Tank was purposely left to reenter and break apart after its use (as is the case with all tanks) but the twin solid rocket boosters — the first used for a manned space flight — were recovered and reused. Most recently, the uppermost cylinder of the left booster that launched the return to flight mission after Columbia's loss, STS-114, could be traced back to the April 1981 mission.

Beyond Columbia and its components as STS-1 artifacts, are the crew's equipment and personal items.

Both Young and Crippen donned for launch and landing modified pressure suits originally designed for the U.S. Air Force's SR-71 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The orange-brown outfit that Young wore is now on display at Space Center Houston, the public visitor center for NASA Johnson Space Center.

The similar suit that Crippen wore is believed to have been returned to the Air Force. Its present location is unknown. Crippen's STS-1 blue T-38 flight suit is among the artifacts held and displayed by the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville, Florida.

Young and Crippen both carried a Personal Preference Kit (PPK) that was limited to a combined total 2.5 pounds of personal items they flew for family members and friends. They each carried 20 items that included silver and gold medallions minted by The Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts (19 for Young, 14 for Crippen); a flag (by Crippen); rings (both Crippen for ascent flight director Neil Hutchinson, and Young "for Susy," his second wife); and wings (by Crippen, his own and for fellow USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory-then-NASA astronaut Bob Overmyer).

Most, if not all of the mementos the crew carried however, have since been given away.

"I don't think I have any, I gave away everything that I flew up. The intent at the time was taking up things for people that were special to me and I gave those to them when we got back down," said Crippen.

"I probably carried some flags and stuff," recounted Young. "If I do [have them], they are probably sitting in some safety deposit box somewhere."

STS-1 also carried an Official Flight Kit (OFK) containing presentation items that NASA, the crew and others would distribute post-flight. OFKs have flown on all subsequent shuttle missions and can be traced back to Apollo flights.

Notable among the STS-1 OFK contents (presented in its entirety below) were 10,000 small U.S. flags, which were later given to employees and VIPs much in the same way as the tiles and medallions mentioned earlier. These flags represent the most accessible of STS-1's artifacts today, with many museums and private collections including the nylon banners as their representative of the first mission.

The STS-1 Official Flight Kit Manifest

The following is the STS-1 Official Flight Kit manifest, as it is archived by NASA on February 4, 1981.

No.

Description

Recipient/Remarks

1.

Standard U.S. Flag

To be awarded by the Administrator to hang in Washington, D.C. at perhaps the Air and Space Museum or the Capital

2.

Standard U.S. Flag

To be hung at JSC

3.

10,000 small U.S. flags
(4" x 6" size)

To be distributed in a manner similar to what was done on ALT

4.

1,000 medium size U.S. flags
(8" x 12")

To be used as suitable mementos

5.

2,000 patches

To be used as suitable mementos

6.

Five sets of United Nations Members Flags (4"x6")

To be used as suitable mementos

7.

Five sets of state and territorial flags (4"x6")

To be used as suitable mementos

8.

Standard Flag of the City of Houston

To be awarded as appropriate

9.

Standard Flag of Texas

To be awarded as appropriate

10.

Standard Flag of Georgia Institute of Technology

To be awarded by John Young

11.

Standard Flag of Montgomery County, Texas

To be awarded by Robert Crippen

12.

Standard Flag of the University of Texas

To be awarded by Robert Crippen

13.

Standard Flag of the City of San Francisco

To be awarded by John Young

14.

Standard Flag of the City of Orlando, Florida

To be awarded by John Young

15.

National Aeronautics Association (NAA) Flight Certificate

To be awarded as appropriate

Items 16 through 28 will be awarded to participating astronauts in the STS-1 flight.

16.

Wings

Richard Truly

17.

Wings

Frederick Hauck

18.

Wings

Daniel Brandenstein

19.

Wings

James Buchli

20.

Wings

Joseph Allen

21.

Wings

Henry Hartsfield

22.

Wings

Terry Hart

23.

Wings

Karol Bobko

24.

Wings

Loren Shriver

25.

Wings

Richard Scobee

26.

Wings

Ellison Onizuka

27.

Wings

Frederick Gregory

28.

Wings

Joseph Engle

Items 29 through 112 will be awarded to the following astronauts.

29.

Medallion

Joseph P. Allen

30.

Medallion

James P. Bagian

31.

Medallion

Alan L. Bean

32.

Medallion

John E. Blaha

33.

Medallion

Guion S. Bluford, Jr.

34.

Medallion

Karol J. Bobko

35.

Medallion

Charles F. Bolden, Jr.

36.

Medallion

Vance D. Brand

37.

Medallion

Daniel C. Brandenstein

38.

Medallion

Roy D. Bridges, Jr.

39.

Medallion

James F. Buchli

40.

Medallion

Michael L. Coats

41.

Medallion

Richard O. Covey

42.

Medallion

Bonnie J. Dunbar

43.

Medallion

Anthony W. England

44.

Medallion

Joe H. Engle

45.

Medallion

John M. Fabian

46.

Medallion

Anna L. Fisher

47.

Medallion

William F. Fisher

48.

Medallion

Charles G. Fullerton

49.

Medallion

Dale A. Gardner

50.

Medallion

Guy S. Gardner

51.

Medallion

Owen K. Garriott

52.

Medallion

Robert L. Gibson

53.

Medallion

Ronald J. Grabe

54.

Medallion

Frederick D. Gregory

55.

Medallion

S. David Griggs

56.

Medallion

Terry J. Hart

57.

Medallion

Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr.

58.

Medallion

Frederick H. Hauck

59.

Medallion

Steven A. Hawley

60.

Medallion

Karl G. Henize

61.

Medallion

Jeffrey A. Hoffman

62.

Medallion

Joseph P. Kerwin

63.

Medallion

David C. Leestma

64.

Medallion

William B. Lenoir

65.

Medallion

Don L. Lind

66.

Medallion

John M. Lounge

67.

Medallion

Jack R. Lousma

68.

Medallion

Shannon W. Lucid

69.

Medallion

Thomas K. Mattingly

70.

Medallion

Jon A. McBride

71.

Medallion

Bruce McCandless II

72.

Medallion

Richard M. Mullane

73.

Medallion

George D. Nelson

74.

Medallion

Claude Niccolier

75.

Medallion

Wubbo J. Ockels

76.

Medallion

Ellison S. Onizuka

77.

Medallion

Robert F. Overmyer

78.

Medallion

Robert A. Parker

79.

Medallion

Jerry L. Ross

80.

Medallion

Francis R. Scobee

81.

Medallion

M. Rhea Seddon

82.

Medallion

Brewster H. Shaw, Jr.

83.

Medallion

Loren J. Shriver

84.

Medallion

Donald K. Slayton

85.

Medallion

Michael J. Smith

86.

Medallion

Sherwood C. Spring

87.

Medallion

Robert C. Springer

88.

Medallion

Robert L. Stewart

89.

Medallion

Kathryn D. Sullivan

90.

Medallion

Norman E. Thagard

91.

Medallion

William E. Thornton

92.

Medallion

Richard H. Truly

93.

Medallion

James D. Van Hoften

94.

Medallion

David M. Walker

95.

Medallion

Paul S. Weitz

96.

Medallion

Donald E. Williams

97.

Medallion

William A. Anders

98.

Medallion

Frank Borman

99.

Medallion

Gerald P. Carr

100.

Medallion

Eugene A. Cernan

101.

Medallion

R. Walter Cunningham

102.

Medallion

Charles M. Duke

103.

Medallion

Ronald E. Evans

104.

Medallion

Richard F. Gordon

105.

Medallion

Edward G. Gibson

106.

Medallion

Donald L. Holmquest

107.

Medallion

James B. Irwin

108.

Medallion

James A. Lovell

109.

Medallion

Edgar D. Mitchell

110.

Medallion

William R. Pogue

111.

Medallion

Stuart R. Roosa

112.

Medallion

Walter M. Schirra

Items 113 through 126 are under review with General Simkaitis at this time.